Jack (1996)

Because of an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four times faster than a normal human being, a boy enters the fifth grade for the first time with the appearance of a 40 year old man.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

James DeMonaco, Gary Nadeau

Stars:

Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Jack Powell
Diane Lane	...	Karen Powell
Brian Kerwin	...	Brian Powell
Jennifer Lopez	...	Miss Marquez
Bill Cosby	...	Lawrence Woodruff
Fran Drescher	...	Dolores 'D.D.' Durante
Adam Zolotin	...	Louis 'Louie' Durante
Todd Bosley	...	Eddie
Seth Smith	...	John-John
Mario Yedidia	...	George
Jeremy Lelliott	...	Johnny Duffer
Jurnee Smollett-Bell	...	Phoebe (as Jurnee Smollett)
Dani Faith	...	Jane
Hugo Hernandez	...	Victor
Rickey D'Shon Collins	...	Eric

Storyline

The movie is about a boy with a unique aging disorder: one that makes him age 4 times faster than normal. It picks up when Jack (Robin Williams) is 10 years old, but looks 40. He tries to go to public school for the first time, and to become friends with kids his own age. His physical appearance causes him lots of problems, however.

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Plot Keywords:

aging disorder | boy | 10 year old | school | essay | 

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Taglines:

He's a healthy ten-year-old who's growing four times faster than normal. Now he's ready for the biggest adventure of his life...5th grade.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 August 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Mare Island, Vallejo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,191,496 (USA) (9 August 1996)

Gross:

$58,586,889 (USA) (10 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, Great Oaks, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Hanks was the original choice for the lead role because of his performance in Big.

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Goofs

Visible during the scene in the cafeteria.

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Quotes

Phoebe: You don't look ten. Look, you've got the hairy arms. You've got hairy knuckles.
Jane: You look a lot older than us.
Phoebe: It looks like you shaved there.
Jack: Yeah, I do. So?
Phoebe: A ten year old doesn't shave! So then you can't be ten.
Jane: Yes, you can't be ten if you shave and you have hairy arms and you're tall, really tall, and you're bigger.
Jack: So, I'm big for my age.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the music, Jack's classmates can be heard calling for him to come out and play.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: Flubber (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Star"
Performed by Bryan Adams
Written by Bryan Adams / Robert John Lange (as R.J. Lange) / Michael Kamen
Produced by Robert John Lange (as Robert John 'Mutt' Lange) and Bryan Adams
From the A&M Album '18 Til I Die'

User Reviews

Quite charming, but Coppola????????

This could have been an absolutely wonderful film, but due to a one big criticism it remains a nice film, in all the bog-standard sense of the word.

Robin Williams plays the part of a 10-year old trapped in a 40-year old's body, but the big problem is that we can't help but see Robin Williams himself. Anyone that has seen his stand-up comedy will know that Williams is exactly that (10 years old trapped in a body 30 years senior). Whilst his performance would have been quite believable, the film would have worked much better with a lesser-known actor (even one not known for comedy) in the role. I still cannot believe that the great FFC directed this film - it defies all movie sense. However he has done a fine job, and the cast work well together. Miss Lopez makes a very appealing schoolteacher (only in Hollywood!!), and the child actors work hard.

Good fun, but you may find yourself frustrated.